Between 1750 and 1830 the Dutch state developed from an oligarchic republic to an enlightened autocratic monarchy via a short-lasted experiment with representative democracy. During this period, there was an ongoing debate about the right to petition. Political actors and opinion makers addressed the questions to what and whom this right extended and what it meant to have such a right. While theorists of the different types of government had sharply contrasting views on the place of the people in the political process, ideas about petitioning remained remarkably stable.

Dr Joris Oddens works in the Institute for History at the University of Leiden. His areas of expertise include the history of the Enlightenment and the history of the Batavian Republic. His current research project is ‘The Primacy of Local Belonging: Private Papers, Petitioning, and Periodical Press’ which is part of the NWO Free Competition Programme ‘The Persistence of Civic Identities in the Netherlands, 1747-1848’.